The invention relates in general to munitions and in particular to large caliber gun tubes and breech mechanisms. Large caliber gun tubes and breech mechanisms are components of, for example, cannons, mortars, recoilless rifles and howitzers.
Large caliber gun tubes and breech mechanisms are expensive. It is desired to use a gun tube and/or breech mechanism as long as possible. However, these systems may become ineffective and potentially dangerous when operated beyond their useful service life. A significant component of the service life is the historical firing information. In the absence of this information, the system will require additional costly inspections or be prematurely removed from service.
One way to track the activity of a gun tube is with a Weapon Data Record Card. The Weapon Data Record Card includes the number and type of each round fired from a particular gun tube. A soldier manually records the data on the Weapon Data Record Card. The card is stored with the gun tube. A record of the number of tubes used with each breech mechanism is also recorded manually and stored with the breech.
Unfortunately, the Weapon Data Record Cards are often lost and the component has to be either inspected in the field or condemned prematurely. The costs associated with this procedure are high and critical information of the firing history is permanently gone. The administrative responsibilities associated with maintaining accurate information of the Weapon Data Record cards is often an unreasonable requirement for the soldier in the field. Devices similar to those tested on small caliber munitions were determined to be ineffective or untested for large caliber gun tubes and breech mechanisms. In addition, these devices require an external battery to operate. Periodic battery replacement is an unacceptable additional maintenance requirement. There is a need for a device for monitoring the firing history of gun components that requires no periodic maintenance.